Now that Turkey is at loggerheads with its erstwhile ally, the US, the country’s currency crisis has morphed into a political problem of the first order.

The immediate issue is Turkey’s refusal to release the American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is being held on charges of terrorism, espionage, and subversion for his alleged role in the failed July 2016 coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.